Tufting attachment for sewing machines



TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING .MACHINES Filed May 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY.

Jan 14, 1936- l w. F. scHMlEDEL 2,027,454

TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JM

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. #1,1936 y A 2,027,454v i UNITED," STATES IPATENT OFFICE j'rorrnro ATTAiizrtr non SEWING l Deltoxf Rug Company, Oshkosh, Wis., a cOIPO- ration of Wisconsin Y f Application May 5, masseria No. 124,104

c cs. (ci. i12-tc) This invention relates to improvements in and will not be imparted to, norstrain the fabric, tuting attachments for sewing machines. as in the latter event, in the case'oi a dull cutter, It is one of the objects of the present'invenloops might be pulled outwardly too far with retion to provide al tuiting attachment adaptable spect to the surface of the fabric.

5 to a standard form of sewing machine and re- A further object of the invention is to provide 5 ouiring relatively little modication of the scwa tufting attachment of the character described' ing machine. vincluding a novel form of fabric feeding ioot A further object of the invention is tov provide which is arranged so as to gauge the rows of tuiting attachments of the character described stitches with relation to the fabric, and which ro which are motivated icy means mounted directly can straddle pairs of rows of stitches to properly 10 on the main drive shaft of the sewing machine. gauge the ypositions of intermediate rows of A further object of the invention is to provide stitches. a tuiting attachment for sewing machines which A further object of the invention is to provide is very simple and employs a minimum number a tufting attachment for sewing machines which 15 oi parts, and in which the strand looping niemis of very simple construction, is strong and dur- 15\ ber and cutting means are combined, able and inexpensive, and which is well adapted A `further object or the invention is to provide for the purposes set forth@ a tuiting attachment ior sewing machines where- With the above and other objects in view the in the strand loop cutting means is arranged to invention consists of the 'proved tufting at- 2o sever the loops with a long drawing cutting motachment for sewing machines, and its parts and 2o tion instead of a chopping motion, whereby higher combinations as set forth in the claims, and all speed oi" operation is attained and wear on one equivalents thereof.

point of the cutter is eliminated. ln the accompanying drawings in which the A further object of the invention is to provide same reference characters indicate the same parts 2a an attachment of the kclass described wherein a in all of the views: 1 25 previously engaged loop, or loops, on the looper Fig. l is a fragmentary end elevation o a seware severed by 'a vreciproceftion of the looper in ing machine showing the improved tufting mechone direction and at they same time another anism incorporated therein, portions oi" the hase loop is being engaged and formed. of the machine being in section;

,to A further object ci the invention is to provide y Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on 3o a tuting attachment tor sewing machines havline' 2 2 of Fig. l with certain cover plates reing a cutter .replaceably carried directly by moved;

the looper, permitting easy removal or the cutter Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view ior sharpening or for replacement. taken on line or Fig-2 with the cover plates A further object of the invention is to provide -in position; Y 35 a tufting attachment for sewing machines hav Fig. e is a fragmentary end elevation, partly in ing a vertically adjustable combination iooper section, showing the relative positions of the and cutter whereby the lengths of loops to be needle, the cutter and looper, andthe yarnpinch formed may be easily controlled. ing reciprocating liar at a certain position of dit A further object ci the invention is to provide the drive shaft of the machine; so

an attachment of the class described wherein Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the wort: vsupporting plate has attached to its line d-ii oi Fig. t with a cover plate removed lower surface, adjacent the needle slot, a serrated and another broken away; plate for the purpose of cooperating with another Fig. 6 is an end velevation. similar to Fig. i

dit novel instrumentality in the engagement of the only showing the position or the mechanisms with 45 outwardly extending length of yarn to releasably the needle in a lowered position;

hold it taut during the cutting movement of Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken on oi the cutter to relieve strain on the fabric line lll of Fig. t with a cover plate removed and through which the yarn has passed. another broken away;

5o A further object of the invention is to provide Fig. is a detail sectional view teiten on line 50,

a tuiting attachment including a reciprocating n n of 3; and l ypar adapted to releasably hold portions of the Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view oi a portion yarn of a 10012 against the above-mentioned ser of rug fabric showing how the feeding root is rated plate, whereby during cutting operations utilized to gauge a row-of stitching. i5 oi the cutter 'the pull will be against the yarn Referring now more particularly to the drawu 55 surface of the work engaging plate adjacent one ings, it will appear that the sewing machine head is indicated generally by the numeral I2 and said Yhead includes a base portion I3. Extended longitudinally below the base I3, mounted in suitable bearings, is an oscillatory drive shaft I4. Said drive shaft receives oscillatory motion from the usual pulley shaft I5 extending through the upper end of the head I2 by the following mechanism: The pulley shaft is driven by the usual pulley (not shown) mounted on its outer end, and the inner end of the pulley shaft, within the upper portion of the head, hasfast thereon an end of a crank I6. I'he outer end of said crank has pivotally secured thereto the upper end of a crank arm I1 and the lower end portion of said crank arm is pivotally secured to a portion of a slotted casting I8, and said casting is mounted fast on an intermediate portion of a lower rocking stud sha-ft shaft I4 has fast thereon an arm 20, and the other end portion of said arm carries a block 2I which is movably engaged within a slot 22 in the casting I8. Hence, when the pulley shaft is turned, through the before-described connections oscillatory movement will be imparted.to the drive shaft I4.

Above the end of the base I3 opposite the head I2 there are mounted the usual vertical feeding foot and needle carrying rods 23, 24 and 25. The v rod 23 carries an outer bifurcated element 26 of an improved feeding foot, while the rod 24 carries` an inner foot element 21 adapted to be reciprocated in a horizontal path relative to the outer' foot element 26. Also, during certain portions of the movement of said foot element 21 it is raised and lowered slightly withI` respect to the work supporting plate 28 over which itis disposed.

Conventional means are employed for jointly reciprocating the rods 24 and 2l vertically and in a slightly orbital path. The lower end of the rod 25 carries a sewing needle 29 which is reciprocated by the rod orbitally vertically and through an opening 33 in the foot element 21, and through a needle slot 30 in the work supporting plate 28 and into close proximity to the serrated edge 3| of a yarn engaging plate 32 secured to the underedge portion of the needle slot 36.

Disposed below the base I3, transversely thereof and adjacent the needle slot 38, is a slotted supporting bracket 34. Within the slot thereof is slidably mounted a plate 35. One end portion of said plate has vertically adjustably secured thereto the depending portion 36 of a looper 31. The looper 31 projects substantially right angularly from the upper portion of the member 36 and said looper member has a shoulder 38 at its outer end portion. There -is removably held to the looper 31, by means of a screw 39, a cutter 48. whose cutting edge is disposed at a slight angle with respect to the edge of the looper. The cutter terminates short of the shouldered portion of the looper but is arranged to form an angularly disposed extention of the eil'ective edge of the looper. Secured to the opposite end portion of the plate 35 is a laterally offset needle guide 4I.

As previously mentioned, thev drive shaft I4 has an oscillatory movement imparted thereto. The end of said shaft I4 adjacent the looper mechanism has fast thereon a wheel 42. A block 43 is pivotally vsecured to the outer face of s'aid wheel in an off-center relationship. Said block, while being free to move on its pivot44, is slidably conned within a vertical slot 45 in a rear extension of the looper slidable plate 35. Through this con- I9. 'I'he adjacent end of the drive nection, therefore, oscillatory movement of the shaft I4 is translated into reciprocatory movement imparted to the plate 35, which plate, carrying the combined cutter and looper, causes said member to move back and forth adjacent the 5 needle 29 and below the work supporting plate 28. An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of a yarn strand pinching bar 46. This bar is slidably mounted longitudinally of the base I3 immediately below the top surface 10 thereof. Its end adjacent the looper 31 is formed with an offset 41 to position adjacent the inner edge of the yarn engaging plate 32. An inner portion of said pinching bar 46 carries on its lower surface a depending block 48 which is 15 longitudinally movable in a slot 49 in a lower supporting plate 50. VThe pinching bar is adapted to slide on the upper surface of said plate 50, between the same and the work supporting plate 28 of the base I3. Mounted fast on the drive 20 shaft I 4, below the block 48, is a cam 5I having an eccentric cam groove 52. A cam roller 53 is adapted to ridein said cam groove and said roller is carried by a pin 54 depending from the pinching bar block 48. The cam groove is so 25 shaped, that through the connections with the pinching bar 46, when the needle 29 islin the raised position shown in Fig. 3, the end 41 of the pinching bar will be away from the plate 32'. However, when the needle is in an intermediate 30 position with the looper-cutterI 31 drawing away from the needle to sever a loop or loops, the pinching bar moves outwardly to pinch yarn strands between it and the plate 32, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. During continued travel of the 35 form a rug, is positioned on the base I3 and work supporting plate 28 and the strand of yarn 56, or

other material to be used, is threaded through the needle 29 and when sewed through the ma- 45 terial and cut forms the pile of the rug.

-The outer free end of the looper is beveled, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit easy entrance between the needle side and the strand in forming the loops, and the shoulder 38, at the outer end of the looper, prevents the loops from slipping olf when the looper is reciprocated rearwardly. In the formation ofa loop the yarn 56 has an upwardly extending portion which engages a notch in thebplate 32 and this means serves to holda 55 formed loop tightly on the looper and prevents slippage when the looper and feed reciprocate forwardly during upward reciprocation of the needle. Also, the engagement of the yarn with said plate is important in connection with the 60 pinching operation 'of the pinching bar during loop cutting operations, as previously described.

In operation, the needle 29 having the strand threaded therethroughl reciprocates downwardly through the fabric and through the needle-slot 30 of the plate 28. At the lower end of its reciprocation the needle enters the space adjacent the inner face of the needle guide 4I to prevent'any lateral flexure of the needle. The upward movement of the needle will cause the yarn to slacken, 710 and at the same time the looper plate, carrying the looper and cutter, will move forwardly, to cause the outer end of the looper to move between the strand and the needle to a point where the looper shoulder 38 has passed beyond the 75 Vamargas-1 downwardly and at the lowest point of the needle,

the looper frame starts to move forwardly. Dur- Y ing reciprocations of the looper frame a loop on the looper is crowded onto the cutter 40 while another loop is being formed, and reciprocation of the cutter serves to successively sever each loop thus moved onto the cutter. During the severing operation the pinching bar 46 is effective to tightly clamp the loop strands against thev plate 32 so as to prevent any direct strain on and pull against the fabric through which the loops are passed. The cutting of the loops is accomplished with a relatively long drawing action of the cutter. The action of the combined looper and cutter is such that certain inner loops are being cut while a subsequent loop is being engaged and held. The cut loops form tufts on the fabric and as the work progresses said tufts move rearwardly in the elongated needle slot and are -accommodated thereby. When the tufts reach the end of the needle slot they are withdrawn therefrom by the rearward movement of the fabric.

In Fig. 9 a fragmentary plan view of the fabric 55 with a plurality of lines of yarn' stitching thereon is disclosed. In sewing the yarn through the fabric the operator initially sews a longitudinal line of stitching bl and then when the next line isv to be sewed the feeding foot is arranged relative to the completed line so as to space the next line to be sewed, dit, and this performance is repeated. It will be noted that the lines of stitching b1?, bt, t@ and tt, gauged by this means, are spaced apart a substantial distance and in order that the tufts or piles to be produced may be close together, it is-necesfary to sew lines of stitching intermediate the hrst sewed lines bl, bt,

it@ and tt. For this purpose the improved twopart feeding foot ttt-2li' performs an important function. lihe structure of said feeding foot is such that it may be used to accurately gauge the position of intermediate rows. As shown in Fig. 9 when an intermediate row til is to be sewed the member tty-2i' is positioned. so that the legs of the portion 2t straddle a.pair of spaced rows of What I claim as my invention is:

1. A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating a fabric and carrying a strand which is pas ed through the fabric by the needle, comprising a transversely reciprocal frame positioned below the fabric and carrying a' looper arm and a cutter adjacent an edge portion of the looper arm, the looper arm being arranged to engage the strand to form loops below the fabric, means for reciprocating the needle and the frame member, the' cutter being arranged to sever a previously'formed loop during reciprocation of the.

frame while another loop is-being formed and engaged on the looper arm, and rectilinearly reciprocating means independent of the loopiffor engaging a portion of the yarn of a loop during reciprocations of the frame member and the needle and for releasing it during other reciprocations of the frame member andneedle.

2. A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating a fabric and carrying a strand which is passed through the fabric by the needle, comprising a' transversely reciprocal frame positioned below the fabric, a looper arm having a' lower engaging edge portion and vertically adjustably I carried bysaid frame, a cutter adjustably and removablyearried by said frame adjacent the looper arm and forming an angular continuation of the lower edge thereof, the looper arm being arranged to engage the strand to formloops below the fabric and the cutter being arranged to cut a previously formed loop engaged by the arm duringlreciprocation of the frame member, means for engaging portions of formed loops during the cutting reciprocations, and means for reciprocating the needle and the transverse frame member. ,Y y

3: A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating a fabric and carrying a strand which is passed through the fabric by the needle, comprising a transversely reciprocal frame positioned below the fabric, a looper arm having a lower engaging edge portion and vertically adjustably carried by said frame, a cutter adjustably and removably carried by said frame adjacent the looper arm and forming an angular continuation of the lower edge thereof, the looper arm being arranged to engage the strand to form loops bestitching t@ and ti@ with said rows of stitching extending in the space between inner side portions of the member it and outer sideportions of the other foot element di?. This therefore accurately locates the position of intermediate row iii and in this manner any-number of intermediate rows may be readily gauged and located.

As previously brought out the cutter t@ may be easily removed from the member tl for sharpening or replacement, and by shifting the member iii vertically relative to the bar tt the length of the loops and tufts may be. easily varied, as desired.

It will.` be further understood that a number of said tufting attachments may be mounted on the same sewingmachine to permit sewing a plurality of rows of stitches at the same time.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the improved tufting attachment is of simple and novel construction, requires little modification cfa standard sewing machine, and is well adapted for the'purposes described.

s passed through low the fabric and the cutter being arranged to cut a previously formed loop engaged by the arm during reciprocation of the frame member, reciprocating pinching means for engaging portions of formed loops during the cutting reciprocations, and means for reciprocating the needle, the transverse frame member, and the pinching means.

d. A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating a fabric and carrying a strand which is the fabric by the needle anda slotted work supporting plate through which the needle reciprocates, comprising a transversely reciprocal frame positioned below the fabric and carrying a combination looper arm and a cutter adjacent an edge portion of the arm, the cutter being inwardly of the looper arm, the looper armv being arranged to engage Ythe strand to form loops below the fabric, means for reciprocating the needle Vand the frame member, the cutter being tionary means below said work supporting plate for engaging and holding a portion of the yarn of a loop taut during reciprocation of the frame member and the needle, and moving means cooperable with said stationary means for pinching a portion of the yarn of a loop only during severing movements of the cutter.

5. A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating and carrying a strand through a fabric, comprising transversely reciprocal shouldered means below the fabric for forming the strand i into loops, a cutter rigidly carried by the reciprocal means inwardly of the shouldered means, for severing loops moved from the shouldered means onto the cutter While another loop is being formed and engaged on said shouldered means, pinching means momentarily engaging portions of the formed loops, and means for reciprocating the needle, the transverse member, and the pinching means in timed relationship.

6. A tufting attachment for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating and carrying a strand through a fabric and a reciprocating drive shaft, comprising a reciprocal loopercutter below the fabric for forming the strand into loops and for severing the loops, a reciprocal pinching bar for releasably engaging strand portions of loops below the fabric while said loops are being severed, and means on said drive shaft for reciprocating the looper-cutter and the pinching bar in timed relationship so that the pinching bar is moved to pinching position while the looper-cutter is moved away from the needle.

'7. In a sewing machine having the usual needle, work feed, means for guiding a strand to the needle, and reciprocating drive shaft, a fabric supporting plate having an elongated needle slot, a plate having a notched edge mounted below the supporting plate with the notched edge adjacent the needle slot, the needle reciprocating through the slot and fabric and adjacent said notched edge to successively carry the strand through the fabric and below the supporting plate, a reciprocal pinching bar mounted below said supporting plate with an end portion adjacent the notched edge of said plate, a looper-cutter member below the plate opening and arranged to successively pass into and engage loops formed during upward reciprocations of the needle and to cut formed and engaged loops, a reciprocation of the needle and an advance movement of the work feed causling the strand to slacken and shift on one side of the needle and to engage in a notch of said plate, and means for reciprocating the needle, the looper-cutter member, and the pinching bar, the reciprocation of the pinching bar being toward and against the notched plate to engage a strand during cutting reciprocations of the looper-cutter, and away from said notched plate to release the strand during advance movements of the work feed.

8. A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating a fabric and carrying a strand which is passed through the fabric by the needle, comprising a transversely reciprocal frame positioned below the fabric and carrying a looper arm and a cutter adjacent an edge portion of the looper arm and inwardly of the end thereof, the looper arm and cutter extending longitudinally of the line of feed for the sewing machine, and the looper arm being arranged to engage the strand to form loops below the fabric, means for reciprocating the needle and the frame member whereby a loop is engaged by the cutter and is severed thereby while another loop is being formed and engaged on the looper arm outwardly of the cutter, and reciprocating means independent of the looper for engaging a portion of the yarn of a loop during reciprocations of the frame member and the needle.

9. A tufting attachment mechanism for sewing machines having a reciprocating needle for penetrating a fabric and carrying a strand which is passed through the fabric by the needle, comprising a transversely reciprocal frame positioned below the fabric and carrying a combination looper arm and a cutter adjacent an edge portion of the looper arm, said looper arm and cutter extending longitudinally of the line of feed for the sewing machine and having an outer looper arm portion arranged to engage the strand to form loops below the fabric and an inner cutter portion to engage loops moved inwardly of the looper arm during reciprocation of said member, means for reciprocating the needle and the frame member, the cutter being arranged to sever a previously formed loop during reciprocation of the frame while another loop is being formed and engaged on the looper arm, and reciprocating means independent of the looper for pinching a portion of the yarn of a loop below the fabric during reciprocations of the frame member and the needle.

WILLIAM F. SCHMIEDEL. 

